


The Promise of Spring

by Claraon



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Cabin Fic, F/F, Madam Spellman Fictober Challenge, Mention of past abuse but very mild, The Was Only One Bed, the softest fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-07 22:21:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21465457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Claraon/pseuds/Claraon
Summary: They came here every year for the Spring equinox, since even before Zelda could remember, on the mountain sacred to the Coven. The earthy smell of the woods, the scratching of small animals between the leaves slowly waking up from hibernation. She had loved spotting each burgeon on the trees as a little girl, looking for the signs of life returned.My super soft, very late entry to the Madam Spellman Fictober ChallengePrompt: Sharing a bed
Relationships: Zelda Spellman/Mary Wardwell | Madam Satan | Lilith
Comments: 30
Kudos: 125
Collections: Madam Spellman Fictober Challenge





	The Promise of Spring

They came here every year for the Spring equinox, since even before Zelda could remember, on the mountain sacred to the Coven. The earthy smell of the woods, the scratching of small animals between the leaves slowly waking up from hibernation. She had loved spotting each burgeon on the trees as a little girl, looking for the signs of life returned. The day’s walk to their destination was a favourite of Zelda’s Spellman traditions. They heard the spring before they would see it, tucked away in a rock formation overtaken by moss, plik-ploking into a small pool below. 

As usual, Hilda, Ambrose and Sabrina were of the party, but they were joined this time by the Weird Sisters, and perhaps most importantly, their deity. After the decimation of the Church of Night, Lilith and Zelda had spoken for long hours on reconstruction, the establishment of new rites. Zelda told her Queen of this Spellman tradition, and they both agreed it would be the perfect purification ritual to cleanse their new Church of the horrors of the year past. 

Gathered around the pool, they undressed to their underclothes in silence and stepped one by one into the ice-cold water. Sabrina first, tradition dictating the youngest should be offered to the spring first. Waist deep, she murmurs her spell of purification, atoning for the wrongdoings of the year past, drank from the trickle dripping from the rock, and let Agatha take her turn. Zelda’s turn came, trembling as she stepped in the water, less from the cold than the weight of what she had to atone for this particular year. Letting her family down, her coven down, blinded by her greed and ambition for power. If the others noticed, they stayed quiet as she drank her fill, a stray tear adding a saltiness to the pure water dripping from her lips. 

Finally she stepped out, and only Lilith remained. Her descent into the water was slow, regal as ever, almost seeming to float about the water. She had elected to keep the glamour of Mary Wardwell when visiting their realm, and here, a splash of white fabric and alabaster skin in the dark pool, she looked almost small, fragile. After completing her own part of the ritual, she turned back to her coven, waiting on the banks in reverence, and then gestured for them all to join her. 

“New Church, new traditions, what do you say?” 

They formed a circle in the water, holding hands, and Lilith spoke, 

“We thank this spring for cleansing us from our sins past. We thank Persephone the unfailing for bringing life back to this Earth, as we will bring back into our coven. We thank the forest for protecting all that lives within, and giving witches the power to protect those without.”

On these words, Lilith’s magic spread through their linked hands, a warm glow from within alighting each with an exhilarating fire. Zelda opened her eyes to find Lilith’s fixed on her. The water around them swirled with the pulsating motion of the spell. 

“We thank our Coven and her High Priestess for connecting us to the life force that once was ours, and shall be ours again under this new era.” At that Zelda felt a surge of magic hitting her right to her core, her eyes transfixed by the unflinching emerald gaze of her Queen. “Amen.”

The swirling water slowed to a halt around them, their hands dropped. As the rest of their small assembly opened their eyes, all were surprised to see that flowers had bloomed all around them, crowning the pool in a bright purple wreath. 

The spring was too far up in the mountain for the Spellmans to make it there and back within a day. Zelda’s father had built a cabin nearby at the turn of the century so they may rest overnight and make a trip of it. It was a modest thing, lodged between two tall pines in a small clearing. They all made their way there, the Spellman sisters heading straight inside to open the shutters and make sure nothing had broken down or broken in since their last stay, while the younger members of their party headed at the back to cut wood for the night. 

Only Lilith seemed to linger in the clearing. Sensing her hesitation, Hilda turned back to her,  
“You’ll stay with us for dinner, love… I mean… Your Highness, won’t you?”

Lilith chuckled at that, “Lilith is fine,” she smiled, “and yes, if it’s not too much trouble. I was actually wondering if I could impose on your hospitality a while longer and stay the night. I’m afraid the blessing has taken some of my energy, and the journey back to Hell is quite the trek...” 

Zelda stepped back onto the threshold, feeling silly for not having anticipated this. “But of course. We would be honoured.” 

With that they all went inside, setting about removing covers from furniture and taking out bedding from the cupboards. As she placed a pile of duvets into Lilith’s open arms, Zelda realized they were in a bit of a predicament. There were two bedrooms, each furnished with a double bed. Usually she and Hilda would share one while Ambrose and Sabrina took the other. The sofa in the living space reclined, which is where they had planned to house the two of the sisters, and Ambrose had carried an air mattress up from the mortuary for the third one. But there ended the cabin’s modest furnishings. Even if Prudence, Agatha and Dorcas managed to squeeze themselves in one bed, she could hardly ask the Queen of Hell to sleep on an inflatable mattress. 

No, she would have a bed to herself, the best one of course, in the master bedroom. Hilda and Sabrina could room up next door, and the four others would squeeze together in the living room. Zelda herself would have to make do with the old armchair that sat in the corner of master bedroom, and that would be that. 

She informed Hilda of the plan, her authority gratefully unquestioned as her sister was busy building the fire in the hearth to prepare dinner. 

They ate a simple meal, huddled around the fire for warmth. Lilith regaled them with a story of her entanglement with Cleopatra’s little sister Arsinoe, and how she helped her in the uprising against Julius Ceasar. Zelda couldn’t help but marvel at her flair for dramatic storytelling, her voice lowering tantalizingly at the most tense moments, eyes glowing. Their little group hung on to her every word, and gasped in unison when she described how she had pushed the girl down the Lighthouse of Alexandria into the deep waters below to save her from the centurions rushing up the tower to seize them. Lilith’s eyes met Zelda briefly, rewarding her with a tiny smile as if she could sense just how much Zelda was enjoying seeing her audience enjoy her. 

Dinner over, Zelda politely waited on the threshold of the master bedroom for Lilith to undress to her negligée. Such decorum may seem silly as they had essentially all seen each other in just as little clothing at the spring. But here, in the quiet of the night, with a single candle casting a broad shadow over the room, it felt different. More intimate. 

When she was done, Zelda joined her, setting about a simpler version of her nightly ritual. She removed her dress first, then her make-up using the bassinet that sat in the corner of the room. Last came her hair, which she set about tying into a loose braid. All this Lilith watched in silence, sitting on top of the bed covers. A nervous current ran through Zelda, hyper-aware of her every move under the Goddess’ scrutiny. 

“Why do you do that?” Lilith asked, stopping Zelda mid-movement.

“Pardon?”

“Your hair,” she clarified. 

“It helps keep the curl in. I haven’t brought rollers with me.” 

Lilith nodded at that, “perhaps I should do that too.” She licked her lips, seeming to hesitate for a moment, “would you… would you do it for me?” Zelda’s hands froze from their place around the ribbon she was tying to keep the braid in place. She tried to hid her surprise at the request. As Queen of Hell, Zelda would have assumed she would have no shortage of servants to do such things for her, but the voice had sounded almost timid, nothing like the confident exuberance she had exhibited earlier. Zelda couldn’t possibly think of turning her down.

“Of course.” 

She found a second ribbon in her bag and climbed onto the bed, motioning at Lilith to turn around so she could position herself behind her. It would be a lie to say she had never thought of running her hands through the wild dark mane of Lilith’s hair, though she would never have dared to voice the thought. She started slowly, reverently, fingers threading through one curl after the other. 

“I used to do this for Hilda when she was little, then Sabrina,” she confided “but both wear their hair short these days…” and she wasn’t sure either would let her, both her sister and niece having decidedly taken steps towards their independence. The thought tugged at Zelda’s heart, but she didn’t voice it.

She had almost forgotten what it felt like, this simple intimacy between women. Lilith’s eyes were closed, and Zelda was starting to guess that this was a just as rare an occurrence for her as well. She took her time, revelling in the silky feel of each strand she added to the braid. She finished, lightly running her hand over the demoness’ shoulders to signal she was done. 

Lilith’s head turned to look at her, a smirk tugging at her lips. There was confidence there, almost teasing, but Zelda could also see the lines around her eyes, and wondered just how tired she was as she watched her chest rise into a deep breath. 

“Thank you.” 

Zelda wondered how she was holding up. She herself was definitely feeling the pressure of leading the remnants of her Coven towards a freer, and what she hoped to be a happier future. While the younger witches were eager enough to follow this new path, there was also resistance, from older warlocks in the Church of Darkness that had not welcomed with open arms the new High Priestess come to threaten their millennial patriarchal rule. The Church of Lilith stood its ground, but there was still much uncertain, much to be done. She couldn’t imagine it would be any easier for Lilith, asserting her power over Hell’s Princes and lesser demons. 

Not that she would dare to ask Lilith directly. They had become closer as allies in this new era, but Lilith was still a Goddess, and Zelda knew her place.

She moved to get under the covers, and Zelda grabbed a blanket to settle on the armchair. 

Lilith blew the candle and there was darkness. The fire from the main room had not quite managed to chase away the damp chill of early Spring, and Zelda could feel it seep into her bones. She wasn’t 150 anymore, after all. Careful not to disturb the lying figure on the bed, she tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position. She rubs her feet together, then her hands, but the shivers refused to leave her body. 

“This is ridiculous.”

Lilith’s voice was quiet, but determined. 

“There’s plenty of room on this bed, just get in.” 

The voice in her head that suspiciously sounded like her mother’s was screaming that such a move would be improper of her station. But she couldn't exactly turn down a direct order from her Goddess, could she? 

Zelda rose in silence, added her blanket to the pile already on the bed, and slid between the sheets. They laid there on their backs, side by side. Already she could feel the heat radiating from the other woman’s body. The wind rattled between the blinds, a wolf howled in the distance. She could hear Lilith’s breaths slow down, and assumed she must have drifted off. 

“I can’t remember the last night I slept next to someone,” she heard.

“Not even with the mortal?”

“We never…I would wait from him to fall asleep and get back up. I do my best work at night.”

A flash of white teeth, lips curling in a grin. 

“I’ll admit I wasn’t sure you slept at all…” 

Was that too much? To even admit that she had thought about Lilith sleeping? 

She felt the mattress dip as Lilith turned to face her. Some of her hair had come loose from the braid, and Zelda longed to touch it again, to tug it being her ear. 

“I used to sleep next to Hilda. For decades. I hadn’t realized I had gotten so used to it until I found I couldn’t fall asleep without the sound of her snoring”. 

Lilith chuckled. She must have noticed the use of past tense, because she asked, “and now?”

Now when she closed her eyes, all she saw was Faustus towering over her, crushing her with his weight, digging his claws into her flesh till it drew blood. She tried to take a deep breath, but her face contorted, her fists clenched, and a tear trickled down her cheek before she could stop it. 

Suddenly she was afraid. Afraid of appearing weak before the Queen of Hell. But all she heard was a quiet, resigned, “right.” It was followed by a hand coming up to gently cup her face and turn her to look at Lilith. 

Gone was the smug confidence, the mischievous twinkle that usually adorned her face. Through the darkness Zelda could see infinite sadness in her eyes. 

She knew. Of course, she knew. Zelda only had caught a glimpse at how Lucifer treated her during the sham of a coronation they held for Sabrina, but it was not hard to guess exactly what kind of relationship he would have entertained with her. 

Maybe they had more in common than she let herself acknowledge. Not as Goddess and High Priestess. Not as demon and witch. But as women. Strong, powerful, _hurt_ women who sometimes just longed for a peaceful night of sleep. 

Zelda turned fully to her, and reached out to the tantalizing curl that had escaped Lilith’s braid, running her fingers through it reverently. She offered her a small, damp smile. A question. Lilith answered, touching her forehead with her own first, and meeting her lips in a chaste, tender kiss. Softer than she would have thought possible of the woman. Perhaps she didn’t know her that well after all. 

Scooting closer, her bare foot brushed up against Lilith’s, who let out a yelp. 

“That was cold!” 

“Well, it _is_ cold. Not everyone is fuelled by hellfire,” she retorted, vexed at having been chastised. 

There it was again, the sly grin Zelda was finally ready to admit sent a shiver down her spine every time she saw it.

“Let’s see if I can warm you up, Mother Spellman.” 

Zelda snorted, a cheesy line if she ever heard one. Still, she let herself get wrapped up into Lilith’s arms, her cheek resisting on the other woman’s chest. 

It was quiet again, and through the warmth Zelda could feel herself finally drift off. A whisper above her ruffled her hair.

“This isn’t too terrible.”

She pressed a kiss to Lilith’s sternum. 

“No. No it’s not.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love :) :) :)


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